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Friday, February 08, 2013

Greek Yogurt with Hazelnut Agave Nectar and Shaved Dark Chocolate is a very diet-friendly dessert idea that any chocolate lover would enjoy!

(For Friday Favorites I spotlight recipes from the past that you might have missed, and for anyone who might be planning a diet-friendly Valentine's Day Dinner, this Greek Yogurt Dessert with Hazelnut Agave Nectar and Shaved Dark Chocolate that I first made in 2009 would be perfect. Best of all, it couldn't be easier.)

Valentine's Day is coming up, and no doubt some of you are planning a romantic dinner and maybe looking for low-glycemic dessert ideas. I recently posted Flourless and (almost) Sugar Free Cookies with Peanut Butter and Chocolate, and they'd be great for a casual Valentine's day treat. But if you'd like a more sophisticated dessert option, I highly recommend this combination of Greek Yogurt, Hazelnut Agave Nectar, and shaved dark chocolate. I tested this the last two nights (in the name of blog research) and all I can say is wow!

4 tsp. shaved dark chocolate (look for dark chocolate with the lowest amount of sugar you can find)

Instructions:

Use a cheese grater or microplane grater to shave 4 tsp. dark chocolate into a small bowl. (I actually liked the result using the large side of a regular cheese grater best.) Divide Greek yogurt into two bowls. Drizzle 1 T Hazelnut Flavored Agave Nectar over each bowl of yogurt. Sprinkle 2 tsp. shaved dark chocolate over the top and serve.

South Beach Suggestions:
This recipe would phase 2 or 3 for the South Beach Diet if made with low fat or fat free Greek yogurt and dark chocolate that's low in sugar.

Nutritional Information?
I chose the South Beach Diet to manage my weight partly so I wouldn't have to count calories, carbs, points, or fat grams, but if you want nutritional information for a recipe, I recommend entering the recipe into Calorie Count, which will calculate it for you.

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Posts may include links to my affiliate account at Amazon.com, and this blog earns a few cents on the dollar if readers purchase the items I recommend, so thanks for supporting my blog when you shop at Amazon!

I am looking forward to trying out the hazelnut agave - also wondering what the process is like for creating the infusion? It's easy to grasp olive oil, but the agave is a bit sticky and a lot thicker - you've totally got me thinking!!

I've just discovered this blog, and wanted to give a double thumbs up! As a recent returnee to the South Beach way of eating (and one who gets bored very easily with the same old, same old), I'm finding this to be an excellent resource for mixing things up on the menu. Thanks!

I saw a recipe elsewhere on this site for making your own yogurt. If you want to try it yourself, it's ridiculously easy. You get rich tasting yogurt with none of those peculiar ingredients you find in some brands and it costs a fraction of what you'll pay at the grocery store. Four cups milk, one-half cup dried milk and a six ounce carton of good quality yogurt for a starter makes five cups.

The recipe on this site called for using your oven. I splurged ($20 with a coupon) on a Salton Yogurt Maker. I get everything assembled after breakfast, plug her in and like magic ten hours later there's yogurt waiting to be popped into the fridge to cool.

In my research I found two kinds of yogurt makers: those that have individual serving containers and those that have one multi-cup container. If there's one thing I don't need it's more pesky bits of plastic getting lost in the cupboards but you might find that kind suits you better if you have small yogurt-eaters around the house.

Anonymous, if you want to duplicate this recipe with homemade yogurt, you'd still need to go through the step of straining the yogurt to remove the liquid, which is the instructions that are at the link I shared. Regular homemade yogurt is not going to be the same as Greek yogurt unless you strain it.

I love Greek Yogurt Dessert with Hazelnut Agave and Shaved Dark Chocolate...yummy! The recipe is great. And i like the fact that when i'm having a hard time finding some ingredients you've got an alternative way on how to make it on my own. Thanks Kalyn.

Before this past summer I had never tried Greek yogurt. I was in Greece for a couple of weeks and fell in love with the yogurt and had it with honey almost every morning at breakfast.

When I returned home, I was on a mission to find Greek yogurts. My local grocery store stocks several brands but I am partial to the Fage brand even though it is a little more expensive. Every time I eat it I have memories of my trip to Greece. Now I can't wait to try your recipe.

Debbie, would you believe I went to Greece and never had Greek yogurt even once. That was 10 years ago, and now I'm dying to go back so I can have it there. I agree, the Fage brand is the best I've had.

I was wondering if you had fage fat free yogurt with cinnamon and pecans and splenda .... does it classify as phase 1? I really need to know because this is finally a dessert i LOVE and found I can PERHAPS have it on phase one =)

There's new research on agave that is not good news for dieters, or health-wise. You might want to search it out on www.mercola.com. Dr. Mercola is an M.D. who is a strong proponent of low-glycemic weight loss. He also posts news about "natural" or "health" foods that don't make it to the mainstream.

One of my VERY favorite desserts is Fage non-fat plain yogurt with almond extract, stevia natural no-calorie sweetener, with coarsely chopped almonds. Adding grated dark chocolate to make a mini-almond joy experience would be amazing! Thanks for the idea!

Hi Donna, I'm aware of the writing by Dr. Mercola about agave nectar, but I don't believe all brands of agave nectar are unsafe. Obviously I wouldn't use it if I didn't think it was safe, but in the low amounts I consume I'm not concerned about the brand I use. You may want to read Is Agave Nectar Safe and Agave Myth Buster for more information.

This looks delicious. Similar to Chobani's new espresso-chocolate bite yogurt (except for the sweetener). I would definitely add a little espresso to this, as coffee and chocolate are a dream combination for me.

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